


The Stages of Love

by likeromeoandjuliet



Series: Short Tales of Betty and Jughead [3]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, Post Halloween ep, Sisters-in-Law, look at them go, the bonding we need
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-17
Updated: 2019-11-17
Packaged: 2021-02-07 13:57:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21459190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/likeromeoandjuliet/pseuds/likeromeoandjuliet
Summary: After the whole Halloween fiasco, Jughead has a piece of mind to say to Jellybean about his girlfriend. And he may go a little too far, so sisterly bonding is the way to go...?OrThe Betty and Jellybean bonding sessions we need.
Relationships: Betty Cooper & Jughead Jones, Betty Cooper/ Jellybean Jones, Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones
Series: Short Tales of Betty and Jughead [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1264379
Comments: 14
Kudos: 107
Collections: 6th Bughead Fanfiction Awards - Nominees





	The Stages of Love

“Do you have any idea how stupid that was?”

“Jug...” Betty touches his arm, trying to calm him down.

“No, Betty. She needs to hear this. And since dad seems to have an allergic reaction to disciplining you, I’ll do something about it.” He spats and Jellybean rolls her eyes. “Don’t.” He growls. “What you did was not only irracional and childish, it was also sick and perverted, Jellybean! Did you think about how stupid it was? You decided to prank Betty by pretending you were dead? What kind of sick twisted thoughts run in your brain? Betty watched me almost die! Her father died in front of her, her mother almost did, our best friends! If something actually happened to you, while she was watching you, she’d never forgive herself! I get it, you’re a teenager and you think it’s fun! But life for us, isn’t easy, we’ve had to go through enough trauma to last two lifetimes, Jellybean!”

“Why should she care about what happens to me?” Betty winces inwardly, watching Jughead breathe in deeply.

“Why should she care? I don’t know, Jellybean, why should she? What have you done for her to care about you other than being a snarky teenager?”

“Jug, stop.” Betty warns, as she sees the effect on Jellybean.

“No-“

“Jughead!” Betty says sternly and he looks back at her, her tone of voice shutting him up. She turns to Jellybean. “Go to your room, Jelly. I’ll go talk to you in a bit.” Jellybean nods, running upstairs, tears welling up in the young girl’s eyes. Betty looks back at her boyfriend, who’s staring at her with a confused look on his face. “You’re overreacting.” She tells and he scoffs. “You are. You took it too far. She’s just a kid, she’s bound to make mistakes.”

“Betty, what she did was twisted and-“

“It was Halloween, Jug. Twisted is the rule.” She retorts. “Don’t hold it against her. I’m fine.”

“Betty, she knows what happened to us.”

“No, she doesn’t. The facts? Sure, she does. What it did to us? We’re good at hiding that, aren’t we? We always keep a strong front unless we’re alone. Even when we’re with Archie and V, we don’t talk about the nightmares and the panic attacks. And I know, it was hard enough to open up to each other and we don’t have to go around having therapy sessions with everyone we know, but JB doesn’t know, she’s a kid, I don’t want her to know. Cause maybe, she can go on with her life without having to endure what we had to endure.” She finishes, with a sigh, sniffling as Jughead’s face softens, pulling her closer. “And what you said about me caring about her was harsh, no kid needs to hear that.”

“I didn’t mean to make it sound like she wasn’t worth-“

“It doesn’t matter, it sounded like that. I know, I’ve heard enough of that my whole life.”

A guilty look crosses his face and he frowns. “Betts...” 

“It’ll be fine. I’m gonna go talk to her.” She presses a kiss to his cheek.

“No, let me-“

“Jug, trust me. Let me talk to her.” Hesitantly, he nods and she smiles softly before making her way up stairs.

She knows he hadn’t meant to hurt Jellybean, obviously. Jughead can get protective over her and given everything that has happened to them, she doesn’t blame him. And she’s not excusing what Jellybean did. At the time, she had been pissed and freaked out but she had seen the regret on Jelly’s face and although they hadn’t talked about it, it went as normal as it usually would the next morning with Alice and FP’s cringeworthy domestic bliss. The good thing to come out of it had been Betty and Jellybean’s joint dislike of this new relationship. They hadn’t had the time to truly bond before. Even though they lived in the same house. Between Jughead and figuring out the farm situation, she hadn’t put in the effort into her relationship Jellybean. The past week though, with Jughead being at Stonewall and Edgar dead, she had a little more free time. Jellybean was a tough egg to crack but she was trying. They had dinner together most nights and Betty had picked her up from school a few times. And yes, Jellybean could be a snarky and moody teenager, much like her brother, but they weren’t not getting along.

“JB?” Betty knocks on the door and when she pauses, she hears sniffles. Sighing, silently cursing Jughead for being too harsh and half hoping that’s a lesson learned for when they have kids, she opens the door, revealing Jellybean curled up in bed, crying. “Hey.” JB sits up, as Betty comes closer, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

“I’m sorry.” The teenager mumbles, eyes down on her hands. “It was just a stupid joke. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“You shouldn’t have. And I know you can see that, okay? We’re good.” Betty smiles softly.

“I didn’t think about what happened last year. It was dumb. It wasn’t meant to hurt you.” Jellybean bites her lip, looking up at Betty.

“I know that. You’re a good kid. Sharp edges, but you’re good.” She smirks and Jelly manages a small smile. “Listen, your brother didn’t mean that. About you doing nothing for me to care about you.”

“Betty, you don’t have to-“

“I do.” She interrupts her. “Both you and your brother have a warped sense of if you can be loved or not and you don’t let people in often. I just wanted to tell you that I do care. I care about you. Of course I do.”

“Why? You don’t have to just because of Jug. I’m fine.”

“Jelly, who else am I gonna do make up on? Or bond over our mutual distaste of our parents’ relationship?” The girl laughs. “There’s a lot to love, JB. Trust me and I wanna know more. So, if you need me or if you want to hang out, just knock on my door.” Betty tells her with a smile. “And if you hate me, just remember that I kind of intend on being in your brother’s life for quite a while.”

“I couldn’t hate you, Betty.” Jelly rolls her eyes. “Seriously, you feed me cookies.”

“Oh, it really does wonders on the Joneses, huh?” Betty laughs.

Jellybean shrugs. “You’re also pretty cool.”

•

She’s a bit nervous. It’s not like she thinks Betty will just turn her away but she knows she’s got her own crap to deal with, no time to help JB with her homework. It’s just, she’s not good at this part of school, the English side. She’s more interested in the numbers and equations and statistics, not some boring old essay no one gives a crap about. She’s not her brother, she doesn’t want to write, what she wants is to be in a shop building machines and computers and programs and algorithms.

So, it’s a little embarrassing to be asking for help and it’s even more nerve wrecking because it’s Betty and she didn’t want to be weak and vulnerable, even if it was a stupid goddamned essay.

She knocks twice.

“Yeah?”

“It’s JB, can I, uh...can I come in?”

“Come in!” She hears and opens the door. “Everything ok?”

“Yeah, I just- well, I was-“

“You sure you’re okay? Do you want talk? What is it?” Betty’s face is contorted in such a concerned face, JB kinda wants to throw up. But in a good way. Like Betty cares about her and frankly, she never had anyone to ask for help for things like this. Gladys couldn’t care less about school and FP wasn’t exactly helpful in that department and Jughead annoyed her, in that big brother kind of way and usual exaggeration of how offensive it was that she made mistakes like your instead of you’re. “JB? What’s wrong?” She’s standing closer now and JB curses herself for spacing out for two seconds. “Jelly-“

“I need your help with English!” She blurts out.

Betty is stumped. “Oh...”

Jelly gulps. “I have an assignment. An essay.”

“Oh!” Betty smiles, that usual sweet smile. Jelly’s starting to recognize that ones that are real and the fake ones, no matter how much Betty thought she fooled people. This one is real. “Come on, sit!”

They sit on the bed as Jellybean explains her assignment and Betty’s a little distracted by the pride she feels that JB’s asking her for help and makes a note in her mind to tell Jughead about it later.

JB definitely prefers maths over English. Betty’s seen her doing maths homework and she’s always excited about the numbers. Betty’s always dreaded maths and all that it entailed, something she shared with Jughead. In the future, their kids might have to call aunt JB for that department.

“I’m glad you came to me for help.” Betty murmurs when she finishes reviewing what they had written.

JB smiles shyly. “Yeah, me too.”

“I can’t imagine it’s easy to wake up the grammar police that is your brother.”

“He told me you’d be worse than him.”

Betty snorts. “He just uses too many semi colons, not my fault. He’s absolutely insane, I think I’ve gone through like five boxes of red markers in the blue and gold!”

“Ew, nerd talk!” JB jokes, gagging.

“Shut up!” Betty rolls her eyes. “The real nerd here is you, with all the numbers and video games. Full on nerd, kid.” Jellybean laughs with her. “So, FP’s not gonna be home for dinner, so Pop’s? My treat?”

“Yeah, that’ll be fun!”

•

Years later, when Jellybean is choosing what college to apply for, her first choice is in New York. It’s a nice program, but most of all, it’s where Betty and Jughead live. They had been living in New York ever since they finished high school. Jughead is a writer and a good one at that, even snatching a book deal that had made him a bestselling author. And Betty is an FBI agent. Her badass FBI sister-in-law.

Ever since that night, her and Betty had grown closer, While Jughead was away, they had spent a lot of their time together. From movie nights to Betty helping JB with her homework, from making dinner together to conversations at three am when neither of them could sleep. When Betty’s nightmares woke Jellybean, she didn’t stay in her bed, waiting for silence, instead she tiptoed to Betty and Jughead’s room and she’d talk to Betty, about anything to get her mind off of the troubles in her mind and if the nightmare was too bad for her to handle then she’d dial Jughead’s number even when Betty protested that she didn’t have to make him worry.

From that year forward, JB no longer thought of Betty as Jughead’s girlfriend, but as part of the family.

When JB had her first heartbreak when she was sixteen, the first person she called had been Betty. And Betty had been on the phone with her for over an hour, promising that when her and Jughead went to Riverdale, they’d have a girls day. Ever since that fateful night, after their conversation, they became family.

And now, the person that’s picking her up from the train in New York, is Betty.

“JB!” She hears a voice yell out excitedly from her left, waving. She laughs, walking to her sister-in-law. “You’re finally here!” Betty pretty much tackles her with love the minute she’s close enough. “I missed you.” Jelly can only hold her tighter, laughing softly at how excited she sounds. “Sorry, it’s just me. Jug is stuck at a boring meeting but he’ll be home for dinner.” 

Jellybean smiles. “I missed you too.”

Betty pulls away from their embrace, to look at Jelly. “Come on, let’s go.”

“So, new apartment, right?” Jellybean says as they get inside the car. The last time she had been in New York City had been for her birthday a couple of months before and Betty and Jughead were still about to move to their new apartment. Jellybean had wonderful memories in their old apartment. Every time she’d visit, she always felt so safe and happy with them. And it wasn’t as though living with FP was awful, it wasn’t but there was always some distance between them. FP wasn’t sure how really talk to her and he was always so guilty around her, it usually made her steer clear of him, especially as a teenager, doomed by the hereditary brooding nature. And then on top of it all, Alice and FP being together was at the very least weird, even worse once she didn’t have Betty.

New York had become a sort of escape for herwhen she really needed to leave the house and Betty and Jughead welcomed her with so much warmth, it was hard not to feel at home with them. And now, she was gonna be in the same city.

“We’re still settling in, but yeah, new apartment.” Betty nods her head. “Your brother got lost last week and ended up at our old one.”

“Of course he would.” Jellybean laughs, shaking her head. “It’s so weird that I’m finally here.”

“I know what you mean. Felt weird when we moved out here too.” Betty glances at her with a soft expression on her face. “You have no idea how happy I am that you’re here.”

“I’m happy I’m here, finally.”

“We’ve come a long way, haven’t we?”

“Thirteen year old me was missing out on her badass sister-in-law back then.” Jelly winks.

“Well, she figured it out pretty quickly.”

Jellybean’s admittedly a bit terrified of everything changing. Getting into college was already big enough of a change, moving to a big city was overwhelming, even if it was exciting. But she knew she was on the right path, at least right now. It felt right to be in New York, with family and she felt as though her choices were really hers.

•

Dinner is an exciting affair once her brother arrives. She’s missed him dearly, of course. He’s always been there for her, even when they were apart. Come to think of it, Jughead had, in part, raised her when their mom was off working and their father was succumbing into his addiction. He’d fed her, picked her up from school, helped with homework when no one else had the time to. Even after she went back to Riverdale, he played a huge part in who she was and her view of the world and so did Betty. She had changed a lot just by talking to her, her kindness and her determination and ambition. If Jellybean had to pick two people that inspired her most, she’d say Betty and Jughead. They were the strongest people she knew. The two of them had been through the ringer. From serial killer fathers to Prep School jerks. It was unfathomable to think about all that had happened in a relatively small amount of time. As she laughs with them now, she remembers the pain she had seen in Betty when she woke up to her screams and her brother’s protectiveness of them.

There’s a moment that’s she catches between them, a fraction of a second where they somehow speaking telepathically and then Betty looks back at her with a smile when Jughead nods subtly.

“What’s happening?” Jellybean furrows her brows and Betty chuckles softly.

“We have a present for you, a welcome to New York, as a permanent resident in our day to day life, kind of present. Jug, get the box, will you?” She grins.

The box is on the coffee table in their living room. The box is white with a red bow on top. It’s a square box and Jellybean is intrigued because Betty and Jughead aren’t really that spontaneous about gifts, material ones at least, they were of the type to have a nice dinner, to offer some sort of adventure so she’s curious. They seem so excited about whatever is in the box.

Jughead hands her the box with a grin on his face and the glances at Betty for a second while Jelly begins to open the box. Inside is a mug. They’re watching intently, as she turns the mug over and there in etched across it is:  
  


‘World’s Coolest Aunt’ 

“What?” She mumbles. Looking at the mug and then back at them for a second. “You’re having a baby?” Betty’s already holding back her tears and Jughead has the widest grin she’s ever seen on his face. 

Betty nods. “I’m pregnant.” 

“No, you’re not!” Jelly leaps off her chair, with a squeal and launches herself at Betty. “You’re gonna be parents! Holy shit, Betts!” She laughs loudly and then moves to Jughead. “Oh my god, Jug!” 

Inside the box with the mug is a set of ultrasound pictures printed out for Jellybean. She can’t think of two people that would make better parents. After every step they had taken in their lives, every trauma, every shitty parent, they knew what not to do. She was sure this kid would be wrapped up in love from the moment they were born. It already was. They were going to raise them the right way, the way all children were meant to be raised and loved, with patience and kindness and understanding.

And Jelly, she’d be there to be just as loving. With the same patience and kindness Betty had shown her so many years ago, without a second thought.

Her brother’s  <strike>girlfriend</strike> wife is pretty cool after all. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you guys like it! Just a small Drabble really but I might write more about JB in the future!   
Tell me what you think! And what you’d like for these kind of one shot kind of thing!


End file.
